The Ropar police have arrested two persons in connection with the firing incident at Shri Ganesh Scan Centre in Nurpur Bedi, describing it as a significant breakthrough in crackdown on gangsters and anti-social elements.
The accused have been identified as Karan Arora alias Laddu, of Jadiali village near Manji Sahib Gurdwara in Jamalpur in Ludhiana, and Vicky Kumar Ravani alias Buvan, of Shantivan Gali, Naya Tola, Sangesar in Bihar’s Madhepura district.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Ropar Senior SSP Maninder Singh said the accused had allegedly opened fire at the scan centre after an extortion demand was not met by owners. The incident had occurred during the intervening night of May 30.
According to the SSP, Sandeep Kumar, a resident of SBS Nagar and owner of Shri Ganesh Scan Centre, approached the police on May 31 and reported that unidentified persons had fired at the shutter of his scan centre located in Nurpur Bedi.
The establishment had reportedly remained closed for over two months. Police teams that visited the spot found bullet marks on the shutter and recovered empty cartridges from outside the premises.
Following the complaint, FIR was registered at Police Station Nurpur Bedi under Sections 125, 351(2), and 324(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act, against unknown persons.
To crack the case, multiple police teams were constituted. Acting on technical inputs and intelligence gathered during the investigation, police succeeded in arresting the two accused on June 8.
The police said both the accused were produced before the court on Tuesday, following which their police remand was obtained for further interrogation.
The SSP said the complainant had earlier lodged a separate complaint in SBS Nagar regarding ransom calls and extortion demands. Preliminary investigations have indicated that the two accused were allegedly in contact with gangsters Rohit Gudara and Ravi Balachauria.
According to the police, both accused are habitual drug addicts and carried out the firing incident with the intention of earning money.
During the investigation, the police recovered a .30 bore pistol, 10 live cartridges, and a motorcycle bearing registration number PB10CR-4464 from their possession.
The SSP further disclosed that prime accused Karan Arora has a criminal background and is already facing seven criminal cases registered against him. He had also been absconding in those cases.
Police officials said the investigation is continuing and further disclosures are expected during the course of interrogation.
